territorial waters

plural noun

: the waters under the sovereign jurisdiction of a nation or state including both marginal sea and inland waters

Examples of territorial waters in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

No damage was done, no one was harmed and one of the missiles fell within the UAE's territorial waters while the other fell outside. — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Tehran demands that vessels take a northern route through its territorial waters instead. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026

The defence ministry said that the drone was shot down above Romanian territorial waters. — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 26 July 2026

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow channel in Iranian and Omani territorial waters but open under international law to freedom of navigation. — Jane Arraf, NPR, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for territorial waters

• backwaters
• breakwaters
• floodwaters
• granddaughters
• groundwaters
• headwaters
• shearwaters
• wastewaters
• blotters
• daughters
• otters
• plotters

Legal Definition

territorial waters

noun plural

territorial wa·​ters

: the waters under the sovereign jurisdiction of a nation or state including both marginal sea and inland waters